Today's Paper

New Metro stations to be more spacious, visually pleasing

NEW DELHI: Apart from reducing commuting woes and travel time, Delhiites have a new reason to look forward to Phase-II of the Metro railway now under construction.

According to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, all the nine underground stations on the Central Secretariat-Qutub corridor will not only have stations wearing a more aesthetic look but also include subways for people to cross roads without having to buy tickets.

These subways promise be a great boon to people as most roads in these areas are very busy and difficult to cross. The underground stations will be at Udyog Bhavan, Race Course, Jor Bagh, INA, All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, Green Park, Hauz Khas, Malviya Nagar and Saket.

The design of these stations will also be more functional and visually pleasing than underground stations of Phase-I.

The stations will have three levels-ground, concourse and platform. These will be built in such a way that the platform will be clearly visible from the concourse level. This will be possible as one-third of the platform level will not be covered by the concourse level.

Consequently the stations will have a more spacious look and commuters can easily see the platforms immediately upon entering the paid area.

In addition, Metro rail and security personnel on the concourse level can also keep an eye on the platform level at all times.

The stations-technically called double height atrium stations will also be column free, adding to their aesthetic beauty. The volume of the stations will be reduced by 17 per cent compared with the earlier stations. This will not only save construction cost but also operation and maintenance cost like air-conditioning

The total length of the underground section is 12.23 km of which 8.1 km will be constructed using tunnel boring machines and the rest by cut-and-cover method. A 300-metre ramp will carry the trains from the underground to the elevated section after Saket and the first elevated station on the corridor will be Qutub. The corridor will be extended beyond Qutub by 14.47 km to reach the neighbouring township of Gurgaon.

The entire project is expected to be completed by June 2010, well ahead of the Commonwealth Games in the city.